How to create an international student recruitment plan

How To Create An International Student
Recruitment Plan
Slide 1
How To Create An International
Student Recruitment Plan

Recruitment Plan
Slide 2
1) The Growth of International Mobility
2) Creating a Culture of Internationalization
3) Feeling Out Markets with Paid Search
4) International Search and Mobile Trends
5) Internationalizing Websites
6) Content and Social Media Considerations
7) International Lead Conversion
8) Virtual Campus Tours and Hangouts
9) More International Recruitment Ideas
Overview
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How To Create An International Student Recruitment Action Plan

Recruitment Plan
Slide 3
 OECD's Education at a Glance 2013 report projects international
mobility to nearly double to 8.5 million students by 2025.
 The result has been intensifying competition, among English-
speaking colleges and universities, seeking the rewards of
increasing and diversifying their international student populations.
 Internationalization has transformed from desirable bonus into
institutional imperative, but achieving such goals is no
straightforward task and resource efficiency is increasingly a
necessity.
1. The Growth of International Mobility

Recruitment Plan
Slide 4
 By embracing digital marketing techniques, colleges can better
control their communications and branding, reducing reliance on
external agents while developing more flexible and customized
management of the admissions process.
 Implementing these initiatives requires a willingness to adapt to
rapidly shifting student engagement expectations, understanding not
only the continuous advances in available technological tools but the
cultural nuances of various target markets.
 The majority of colleges and universities with international
enrollment increases cite active recruitment as the reason for their
success.
1. The Growth of International Mobility

Recruitment Plan
Slide 5
 Making internationalization a
true priority means taking a
longer term, bigger picture
view of its role in enhancing
your institution.
 Increasingly, universities are
publicly declaring
internationalization a key
component of future success,
embedded in strategic plans
or elaborated upon in high
level documents.
2. Creating a Culture of Internationalization
University of Calgary’s International Strategy

Recruitment Plan
Slide 6
 Example: The University of Calgary highlights
internationalization as a "key strategic priority" in their pursuit of
becoming "a global intellectual hub", according to their
recent International Strategy document. The 24-page report
highlights their commitment to these goals by illustrating
current activity, tangible targets and strategic goals, namely:
 Increase diversity of our campus communities
 Improve global and cross-cultural competencies within our
campus communities
 Enhance opportunities for international collaborations and
partnerships in research and education
 Leverage our unique areas of expertise to engage in
international development

Recruitment Plan
Slide 7
 Expanding strategic international partnerships, research
collaborations, exchange and study abroad programs, and alumni
relations can greatly enhance a university's educational capabilities,
student opportunities and participation, brand reputation and much
more.
 Colleges can strive to improve the experiences of incoming
international students, thus growing valuable word-of-mouth
referrals among other benefits.
 Promoting internationalization means providing the pathways for
growth, including resources for increasingly culturally diverse
students (and staff) on campus to learn from each other.
2. Creating a Culture of Internationalization

Recruitment Plan
Slide 8
 Focus initial efforts by choosing markets with the best potential for
your institution - likely typical leading countries of origin (China,
India, South Korea).
 Consider focusing marketing efforts according to preferred academic
discipline and degree type.
 Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is a cost-effective way of
revealing insights about potential markets, since expense is only
incurred when prospects actually click your link.
 It is a great way to learn which search terms are popular and which
ads better convert, letting you see which keywords and messages
are more effective in a particular market.
3. Feeling Out Markets with Paid Search

Recruitment Plan
Slide 9
 Google AdWords has a free Keyword Planner tool for searching
keyword and ad group ideas.
 Keep in mind that Google isn't the most popular search engine in
several important source countries.
 Before launching a PPC campaign, it is essential that ad copy fits
the requirements for the applicable platform, landing pages have
been created on your website, and analytics tracking has been
established.
 Landing pages must meet expectations created by the ad copy
and concisely convince prospects to take the next steps, such as
completing an application or "request information" form.
3. Feeling Out Markets with Paid Search

Recruitment Plan
Slide 10
 Recent data analysis from Google shows a continuous increase
in education-related search volumes, confirming that the
student decision journey has moved online.
 Non-branded search queries by prospective students are rising
at a faster rate.
 Google's internal tracking revealed that queries including geo-
specific keywords generated strong click-through conversions.
 Increasing specificity by promoting particular degree and
academic programs in specific locations is recommended for
better results.
4. International Search and Mobile Trends

Recruitment Plan
Slide 11
 Optimizing for mobile usage is important for international
recruitment, since a majority of users in several source countries
are mobile-exclusive.
 Internal Google research shows that a negative mobile experience
on your website is enough for 35% of prospects to move on to the
next potential college on their list.
 Cover you most important bases when developing for task-driven
mobile searchers.
 Top selling points of your school, programs and admission info,
videos and application forms are all important features to include.
 International students will also want to know things like financial
and study permit details.
4. International Search and Mobile Trends

Recruitment Plan
Slide 12
 Developing your website to appeal to multiple markets and
languages is one of the biggest challenges in internationalization.
 A top level folder on the same domain as your other content lets you
develop a customized experience with fully translated paths while
enhancing your SEO.
 Search engines won't give your pages the same value if they think it's
only an auto-translation.
5. Internationalizing Websites

Recruitment Plan
Slide 13
 Ensure that users can easily navigate between available
translations.
 Display the language name written in that language at the top of the
webpage.
 Avoid auto-directing based on a user's IP address, as it will irritate
prospects and inhibit Google's crawlers from discovering your sites.
5. Internationalizing Websites

Recruitment Plan
Slide 14
 When developing content for international audiences, it is vital to
understand your target market as much as possible, including the
local language, cultural norms and expectations, and priorities in
education search.
 Try using student assistants to help develop or translate
content and always test with various groups to ensure that
messaging is clear.
 .
6. Content and Social Media Considerations

Recruitment Plan
Slide 15
 Social media is a valuable tool for discovering more about prospect
groups through online conversations, informal surveys and the types
of posts that receive greater interaction.
 Communication on these networks can help filter unqualified
prospects and reveal insights about language proficiency, interests
and your brand perception.
6. Content and Social Media Considerations

Recruitment Plan
Slide 16
 It’s important that inquiries from all prospects, domestic or
international, are addressed effectively and promptly.
 Students expect a quick email response.
 Hotcourses Abroad found that if given two similar universities,
students from China, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore would
choose the one that responded fastest.
 Prospects prefer personalized responses signed by a staff member
they can continue correspondence with.
7. International Lead Conversion

Recruitment Plan
Slide 17
 Here are some best practices for responding to inquiries:
 Address the student by name.
 Answer the question personally and in detail.
 Provide helpful additional information, including social media and
relevant links.
7. International Lead Conversion

Recruitment Plan
Slide 18
 A campus tour is a big part of most students' decision processes.
 International students rarely have the luxury of visiting a
prospective campus ahead of enrollment but virtual tours can help
bridge the gap, emphasizing a school's strongest features and
providing a glimpse of campus life.
 Google Maps Street View also offers interior virtual tours of some
schools, and a few US-based universities are already developing
tours using new Oculus Rift virtual reality technology.
8. Virtual Campus Tours and Hangouts

Recruitment Plan
Slide 19
 To get better personalized interaction many schools are adopting
web-conferencing via easily accessible tools, like Google
Hangouts.
 These digital face-to-face tools not only allow admissions personnel
to engage directly with international students, but also clarify
solutions using whiteboards, share documents or slideshares, and
guide prospects through relevant webpages via co-browsing.
 To make the most of these opportunities, school personnel should
develop and rehearse a script to work from and test all equipment
many times beforehand.
8. Virtual Campus Tours and Hangouts

Recruitment Plan
Slide 20
 Here are some innovative ideas for colleges and universities
looking to access the world:
 List with international portal sites
 Develop apps featuring application tips, sample lectures, campus
videos/pictures
 English-language training (online modules and/or collaborations with
other training facilities) or online language exchange
 Reach out to international alumni (through internal networks or tools
like LinkedIn) to support recruitment activities
9. More International Recruitment Ideas

Recruitment Plan
Slide 21
 Improving your international student recruitment can best be
accomplished when you have an accurate picture of your web
activity.
 Google Analytics can help you to understand your student mix and
top source countries, so you can monitor your progress while
effectively customizing communications.
9. More International Recruitment Ideas

Recruitment Plan
Slide 22
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How to create an international student recruitment plan

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